Police, community and calendar briefs for Nov. 24, 2013

Published: Saturday, November 23, 2013 at 10:18 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, November 23, 2013 at 10:18 p.m.

A 33-year-old man who admitted to videotaping a woman and taking numerous photographs of her — one of them under her dress — was arrested by Ocala police on Friday, according to officers.

Officers said they were alerted to a man at the Grand Reserve apartments acting suspiciously and that he looked like he was out of breath. When they went to the location, they were approached by a man telling them that the suspicious individual had taken a picture of his wife when she bent over to get an item at Walmart located not far away. The man said he chased the suspect to the nearby apartment complex.

The subject, Francisco Avalos-Arroyo, was detained and interviewed by police.

Police said he told them he had followed the woman around the store, and using his phone, took a picture up her dress.

Taking his phone, officers said they found 38 videos verifying his story.

Charged with loitering and prowling and stalking, Avalos-Arroyo was taken to the Marion County Jail.

Records show the Ocala man had a warrant for failing to appear on a change of plea for not having a valid driver’s license.

Police say Ocala man stole money from bar

GAINESVILLE — A, Ocala man being chased through traffic early on West University Avenue in Gainesville Saturday morning was charged with grand theft for stealing cash from a money bag from the Salty Dog Saloon, Gainesville police reported.

Arrested was Robert Price Brannan, 21, of 1877 NE 40th Circle in Ocala.

The incident occurred at 1:13 a.m. The bouncer was collecting a cover charge from patrons and putting it a bank bag that was on a stool, according to an arrest report by GPD. The bag had $1,205 in it, police said.

Brannan is accused of grabbing the bag, pulling the money from it and running across University Avenue chased by the bouncer, the report states.

The bouncer caught Brannan and was able to recover some of the money before Brannan again fled, GPD said. Brannan was caught by police nearby and still had $50 from the Salty Dog money bag, police added.

The report states Brannan admitted he “did something stupid” and stole the money.

Home invasion robbers leave empty-handed

Police are on the lookout for two men who committed a home invasion at an apartment complex early Saturday morning and escaped empty-handed, according to officials.

The victim told arriving police that she was at her Parkside Apartments at 621 NW Second St. when she heard a knock at the door. Looking outside, the woman said she saw two men standing there and they told her they had an eviction notice for her.

Opening the door, the woman said the men, wearing all black clothing including masks and gloves, barged in, and one of them grabbed her by the neck and placed a revolver to her head demanding money.

Told she didn’t have any, the intruders forced the victim to dump out the contents of her purse. Not seeing any money, the men forced the woman to call friends for money.

Unsuccessful at getting anyone or any cash, the woman said the robbers fled the apartment without getting anything.

Anyone with information about this incident can call the Ocala Police Department at 369-7000, the Crime Line at 369-7061 or Crime Stoppers at 368-STOP. Tips can be sent via the MyPD app, which allows for anonymity, by texting 274637 using keyword 368STOP or by visiting www.ocalacrimestoppers.com.

Food, beverages stolen from Ivy House

A large amount of food, water and beers were reported stolen from a restaurant on Friday, according to Ocala police.

Officers went to the Ivy House at 917 E. State Road 40 and met with employees at the location. There, they were told someone entered the outside walk-in cooler and removed food and beverages.

The missing items were 25 pounds of bacon; 11 pounds of turkey breast; 20 pounds of ground beef; 20 pounds of ribeye steaks; 20 pounds of chicken wings; 15 pounds of salmon; 20 pounds of beef tenderloins; two gallons of orange juice; a 24-pack of Voss sparkling water; a 24-pack of Bud Light; a 24-pack of Heineken; a 24-pack of Corona; and a 24-pack of mixed beers.

Also taken were four metal pans of prepared meat that was inside the cooler, police said.

Anyone with information about this incident can call the Ocala Police Department at 369-7000, the Crime Line at 369-7061 or Crime Stoppers at 368-STOP. Tips can be sent via the MyPD app, which allows for anonymity, by texting 274637 using keyword 368STOP or by visiting www.ocalacrimestoppers.com.

Men arrested, say they wanted to go to jail

Two men, one of whom was dressed as a woman, were taken into custody Friday, accused of stealing four beers, two bottles of soda and chocolates from a convenience store.

When detained by sheriff’s deputies, the two claimed they wanted to be arrested so they could see a friend in the county jail, authorities said.

Deputies met with an employee at the Kwik King, 13003 NW U.S. 441, and were told that two men had entered the store. One of the men, later identified as Mitchell Knighten, was observed walking to the beer cooler where he took four Ice House Edge beers, while Christopher Wilburn — dressed as a woman — removed chocolate candies from a shelf.

Knighten exited the store without paying for the beers, deputies said. When Knighten was confronted by the employee, the employee said Wilburn prevented her from detaining Knighten, according to deputies. The employee said both men then fled the store without paying for the items valued at approximately $11.

Another employee confirmed the thefts, deputies said.

A deputy was able to find the men in a nearby wooded area and they had the stolen items in their possession, authorities said. Knighten, 51, who appeared to be highly intoxicated, told deputies he did not mean to take the goods and wanted to be arrested so he could see a friend in jail, authorities said.

Wilburn, 19, who apparently tried to bite one of the deputies, said he too wanted to be arrested so he could see a friend at the jail, authorities said.

Arrested for retail petit theft, the men were transported to the Marion County Jail.

Community

Rainbow River Conservation meeting

Rainbow River Conservation Inc. will hold its annual meeting at 9 a.m. Dec 7, at the Rainbow Rivers Club, 20510 The Granada, Dunnellon.

The featured speaker will be Dr. Robert Knight, president of the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute and Adjunct Professor of Environmental Engineering Sciences at the University of Florida.

Knight’s topic will be the “Rainbow Springs Restoration Action Plan” and he will address the effect of nitrate pollution and water withdrawals in the aquifer that feeds Rainbow Springs and the Rainbow River.

GIVE BACK NIGHT: 5-10 p.m., Chili’s, 3501 SW 36th Ave. Customers must tell server they are there for Give Back Night and 10 percent of check will be donated to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. (237-6611 or www.chilis.com)